"I am so excited about coming back," Favre said. "We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year and that's encouraging.

"My offensive line looks good, the defense played good down the stretch. I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team."

Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson confirmed Favre had told the team he plans to return and added: "The Packers are excited by his decision and look forward to a successful 2007 campaign."

It appears that the Denver Broncos will trade or cut quarterback Jake Plummer this offseason.

Houston, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville could make a run at Plummer in the coming weeks.

Houston has been considered the frontrunner to land Plummer because of his connection with head coach Gary Kubiak.

Plummer, Jeff Garcia, Damon Huard, David Carr, and Byron Leftwich are all quarterbacks who could well be on the move this post-season.

Meanwhile, Former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin has been voted into the NFL's Hall of Fame despite his troubled past.

Irvin, who won three Super Bowls in the 90s and was voted in at the third attempt, pleaded no contest in 1996 to felony cocaine possession.

Four years later, he was arrested on drug possession charges but they were later dropped.

The 40 Hall of Fame voters were criticised by two of Irvin's former team-mates, Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman, for previously bypassing the wide receiver, who retired in 1999.

They didn't ignore him this time but former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue will not be joining Irvin after being eliminated in the voting.

Other successful Hall of Fame candidates are running back Thurman Thomas, offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, defensive back Roger Wehrli and two nominees of the veterans' committee - tight end Charlie Sanders and guard Gene Hickerson.

Irvin finished his career with 750 receptions for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns. He was selected to five straight Pro Bowls and picked for the NFL's all-decade team of the 1990s. "It's such a great honour," he said. "It's an honour you cannot reach without playing on a bunch of great football teams and playing with some great guys.

"I started out playing here in Fort Lauderdale. I played college up the street at the University of Miami. I was blessed also to play with the Dallas Cowboys. You can't play at three better stops than that."